Innocence Found
by JulieM
Summary: Harm and Mac investigate an unsubstantiated claim by an unknown member of the public, once again igniting Harm’s passion for finding the truth. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers: Putting this first, just in case. Um, 'Nobody's Child' is discussed, in places. But this has no really specific place in the existing JAG timeline. AJ is still around and has not retired, yet.

Summary: Harm and Mac investigate an unsubstantiated claim by an unknown member of the public, once again igniting Harm's passion for finding the truth.

Rating: I'd say a 'T' for graphic and possibly upsetting images…definitely not one for children.

Category: Harm/Mac UST. The ending does give some hope for the future, though…

Disclaimer: JAG does not belong to me, nor do I make any money from what I write. I just get to exercise my imagination so that it doesn't get too out of control!

OOOO

Part 1

Harm sighed as he opened the door to his office. For the past two weeks he had been coming in an hour early each day, hoping to clear off his desk enough so that he could see it. Now, not only was it remarkably neater, but he also felt as if his work-load was under control too…that hadn't happened since…well, since before Paraguay.

That was the last thing he wanted to think about…he was still in the dog-house with the Admiral, although much of JAG life had returned to normal. Sturgis and Bud seemed to have put their differences behind them and it seemed that Harriet may even have forgiven the Admiral. She had been remarkably frosty with him for a while after Harm had returned to work. Even before then, according to Jen. So life was still quite good. Well, as good as he could ever imagine it, seeing as his best friend and secret love was involved with Clayton Webb, the very person who had put her life in danger in Paraguay.

Harm was now in the little out-of-the-way office (the 'glorified storage cupboard' as Sturgis referred to it!) but he didn't mind all that much. Sure, it held a funny smell and he had to have his lights turned on most of the time, since there were no windows and therefore no natural light. It hurt his eyes, but Harm was just glad that his friends were still just down the corridor, only a few steps away. No amount of money and perks could possibly make up for a happy work environment, could it?

Harm paused in thought as he saw the foreign manila envelope sitting in the middle of his desk.

He hadn't left that there, last night, had he?

The only similar document that could be lying around his office was the results of the post-mortem on an accident victim…but he'd given those to Sturgis the afternoon before. Harm picked up the envelope (it was actually quite light,) going out of his office to Sturgis'. The room was still in darkness, as it had been the night before, when Harm had left for the night. Sturgis had left early, the night before, to catch one of Varise's performances, as his girlfriend was in town just now.

Harm wandered back, as he opened the envelope, taking out the single sheet it contained.

"Dear Commander," he read the letter aloud, but in a hushed whisper, "you will probably tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about by the time that you finish reading this. But I know what I saw and continue to see on a daily basis and I hope that when you see the enclosed photograph, you will be as disturbed as I am…"

Harm took a second to dig back into the envelope, finding the mentioned photograph in the corner at the bottom. He took a quick look at it, at the scene of a happy looking family and turned his attention back to the letter.

"I heard about your involvement in the Lewis case and I am hoping that you are the right person to come to with this. All I know is that when the family shown in this photograph moved onto our street, they had four children, although it was rare to see the youngest. This is evidenced in the photo, which is rare in that it contains the fourth child and second daughter. You can see her sitting on the porch. But we moved from the street shortly after this photo was taken and I didn't think much more about it. Now, it is nearly two years later and the same family moved only one street down from us a few weeks ago. But now, there are only three children living in the house and the family seems to be denying that there ever was a second little girl in their family. I have wrangled with this for weeks, not knowing where to go with it. That is, until I remembered what you did for that little girl who disappeared a few years ago and for her twin sister, who would never have been found if it weren't for you. You are my last hope on this; everybody else seems to think that it is my imagination. But I know what I saw and this photograph just proves it. I'm hoping that you may again be able to get justice for a little girl who needs help, one way or another.

The address you need to respond to is; 563 Everglade Terrace, Norfolk.

Yours sincerely, a concerned neighbor."

Harm let out a deep breath and took a look at the photograph again. There was nothing unusual about it. Just four little kids playing in their front yard with water balloons and squirt guns…Except for the one sitting on the front porch.

He looked back to the envelope that the letter and photo had come in. There was no note indicating who it was from, but they hadn't signed the letter personally either, so they obviously didn't want him to know who they were. He decided to get the envelope dusted for prints, but unless the person had a record, that probably wouldn't help him much, even if a print were found on the document. If the person was a habitual troublemaker, it was possible, though. However, this person seemed not just truly concern but very certain that his/her allegations had merit, too.

He decided to work on another case and wait for Bud, Sturgis or Mac to arrive and ask them for their opinion.

"A photo doesn't prove anything, Harm," Sturgis pointed out, but conceded, "Although the person does seem very concerned."

"With all due respect, Sir , the way I look at it," Bud had told him, "is that if I didn't do anything about it and then found out that there was something behind all of this, then I'd never forgive myself. It wouldn't do any harm to check it out, would it?"

Mac was in court that morning, so Harm had to wait until after lunch to ask her opinion.

"Do you still have the number of that NCIS agent who was involved in the Lewis case?" she asked, "If you ran it by her and offered your help, then I'm sure nobody could object to you checking things out. It'll all be above board, that way."

Harm nodded, but continued staring at the photograph. Something had been bothering him all day, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Are you listening to me, Harm?" Mac asked, when he didn't respond.

"Huh? Yeah, sorry Mac! I just…something about this picture is bothering me. I've got a hunch buried in my brain and I can't for the life of me think what it is…"

Mac walked around to his side of the table, looking at the photo over his shoulder and saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Why isn't she playing with her brothers and sister?"

Harm looked at Mac, then back at the photo.

"It might be something as simple as she had a cold, that day. Maybe her parents didn't want her getting wet."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't look too happy either if I couldn't join in the fun," Harm nodded, noting the sulky countenance of the child.

"Or if I were ill," Mac added, continuing, "Well, if she was ill or not, we know she never joined in, because neither her hair nor her clothes are wet."

"And her hair is a bit messy…maybe she was ill, she looks like she just got out of bed…but her face is dirty and her clothes crumpled. Do you think that could suggest that she was out playing?"

"Not with her brothers and sister," Mac shook her head, "How many kids do you know that would rather play with other kids and not her siblings, especially if they are older?"

"Not many," Harm conceded, desperately searching the photo for something that put all of the strange factors together. There had to be some reason that made all of these little nuances make sense. Harm took a closer little girl and felt his stomach give way and his life as he knew it drop out from under him.

"Look at her hands, Mac!" he whispered.

Mac paused and leaned in closer.

"What?" she asked, not understanding what he was getting at, "I…I can't see them…"

Harm could only describe this as a 'prisoner of war' stance. The child appeared to be sitting on her hands.

OOOO


	2. Chapter 2

OOOO

Part 2

"I'm sure this will be nothing," Agent Holland told him, "but we'll all sleep better for knowing that."

Harm steeled himself as Agent Holland knock on the door.

It was opened by boy of around eight.

"Hello," Agent Holland softened her voice, "Is your Mom around? Can we speak to her, please?"

The child leaned back and hollered for his Mother.

"Jamie," a female voice eventually chided him, " what I did I tell you about shouting? And I don't like you answering the door while I'm all the way in the kitchen…"

The voice soon materialized into a woman in her late forties.

"Hello," she wiped her hands off on an apron around her waist, "can I help you?"

Agent Holland explained who she was, but was quick to reassure the woman that she was only making enquiries. She lifted up the photograph that Harm had given her earlier.

"Are these your children, Ma'am?"

The woman frowned, looking at the photo.

"Where did you get this, if I may ask?" she asked, but Agent Holland gave no answers.

Sensing this, the woman answered, "Yes, those are my kids; that's Jamie, who is eight, that's Trisha, my oldest, she's ten and my youngest, Tim, he's seven. What is this all about?"

"We had a concerned member of the public contact us about this child, ma'am," Agent Holland pointed the child out on the photo.

"What?" the woman just looked confused, "But that's not one of my children. I've only got three…that's probably one of the neighbor's kids."

"So this definitely isn't your child?" Harm spoke up and again the woman shook her head.

"This photo wasn't taken outside this house, was it Ma'am?" Agent Holland looked around the front of the property.

"No," the woman confirmed, "we lived in a different house, up until a few weeks ago."

"Could you possibly give me your previous address, ma'am?" Agent Holland requested, "We'd like to follow up and make sure this child really is in no danger. You understand why we need to investigate any claims lodged by a member of the public, don't you?"

"Sure," the woman nodded and reeled off her previous address in Southampton.

Agent Holland thanked her then they turned around to get back in the car.

Before they pulled away, Harm looked back to see that the woman was still at her door, now with all three of her kids, a protective arm wrapped around them all.

Harm didn't know why, but something about this just wasn't right.

OOOO

He soon figured out that there was more than met the eye to this case when they pulled up at the address the woman had given them.

First, they looked around, but the property was still vacant, still had a sign in the yard. They then crossed over the road to where there was an elderly woman tending the plants in her yard.

They conversed with her for a few minutes, then showed her the picture and asked her about it.

"Sure, that's Sandy Callow's kids," she told them, "She and her little brood used to live here up until a few weeks back. I believe she was moving somewhere a little further out. Said she'd found a great school for the kids and that it would be nearer to her husband's job. He's a Master Chief, doing…something or other at the naval station in Norfolk."

"How about the other child, Ma'am?" Harm had a compulsion and went with it. His gut instinct had served him well before.

"Other child?" the woman spoke up, looking a the child he pointed to in the photo, "Oh, well…I don't know who she is. Aren't many other kids living around here…I don't recognize her. Sandy and Jim Callow only have the three."

"And you don't recognize the other child as belonging to another family from this street?" Agent Holland checked.

"No," the woman again shook her head, "There aren't any around that age. Trisha Callow was the youngest little girl on the street."

Harm shook his head and turned to look at the house, the photo still held up in front of him, as he shifted his gaze back a forth.

Agent Holland couldn't see what was bothering him so much, this woman had told them much the same as Mrs. Callow had, so she started up a conversation with her.

"You've got a lovely garden, Ma'am," she complimented, "I like to garden myself, but find I have little time for it, between my job and my kids."

"Oh, I work hard to keep my garden looking nice," the woman was obviously pleased that she had noticed, "I even help my neighbors out with theirs. The Orsons just down there, you see? I do their borders. And I even did Sandy and Jim's, before they moved out. I don't know what is going to happen to them now. Those roses were just beginning to bloom, shame they're not here to see 'em. Maybe I'll grab a camera and snap some photos, so that I can send them on to Sandy. She'd love to see 'em."

She excused herself while she went in for her Poleroid camera. She took a few snaps, collecting them into a pile as she did so.

"Perhaps the new neighbors would appreciate me continuing," she supposed, more to herself than anyone else, "Sandy and Jim loved the look of the flowers when they moved in and asked me to stay on…"

"Wait a minute!" Harm spun around, "You're saying that those rose bushes were in there when the family moved in? But why aren't they on this photo?"

The woman looked back at the photo, a bit confused.

"Well," She stammered, "I guess…Oh my…they're not…"

"That's not the same house," Harm concluded, "If there have always been those two rose bushes in front of the porch, then this cannot be the same house…"

"They've always been there," the woman insisted.

Agent Holland also looked back and forth between the photo and the house across the street.

"They're very similar," she marveled, pointing to the house, "but look here…"

Harm saw what she was looking at; a small blocked up gap that used to be some sort of vent for a furnace or something. There was no such gap in the photo. If it was the other way around, they might have just dismissed it, thinking that it had now been patched over, but together with the rose bushes, they mounted up to one irrefutable fact. This address that Sandy Callow had given them was not the one in the photograph.

And what the woman had to say put another doubt in their mind;

"How long ago was this photo taken, Mister, because I think that Sandy and Jim Callow moved in to our street about a year ago…"

And that triggered another alarm to go off in Harm's head. This photo was two years old. It was certainly possible that the family had lived somewhere else before this. But where? Only his anonymous source could tell him for sure…How would he find them?

OOOO

"Why would she lie?" Harm asked Mac, when he went round to tell her about his day, later on.

Mac was all dressed up to go out to dinner with Webb, but had a few minutes to spare.

"It certainly does seem suspicious," Mac nodded, as she looked at the two photos, one that Harm had received from the 'concerned neighbor', the other from the elderly lady they had questioned in Southampton.

"Agent Holland said she'd search the county records, but there's no guarantee that it'll be there, not if it was outside Southampton."

"She'll have her work cut out for her if she has to search every county in the state," Mac agreed, but suggested, "Why don't you just ask Mrs. Callow?"

"Agent Holland doesn't want to tip our hand," Harm told her.

Mac nodded, understanding that if a child's welfare was at stake, this was probably best.

"The only thing I can think of is trying to find out who sent me that photo," Harm shook his head in frustration.

"The concerned neighbor," Mac nodded in agreement, "How about the envelope that the letter and photograph came in?"

"Forensic were able to tell me that a woman licked the envelope to seal it shut, but that the fingerprints and DNA match nobody in CODIS."

Harm took another look at the photograph.

"How could you treat your children so differently, Mac?" he asked, "How could you let the others out to play games in the yard and make the littlest one sit on her hands on the porch and watch her siblings play without her?"

Mac shook her head sadly, "I don't know, Harm. I just don't understand it."

OOOO


	3. Chapter 3

OOOO

Part 3

On Monday, Harm went to the Admiral and approached him about the situation. At first, the Admiral was skeptical, but Harm told him that Agent Holland also felt there was reason to investigate. He told him that she was doing her best to investigate on her own, but that her time and her resources were stretched to the limit.

"Not that I haven't got plenty to occupy me right now," Harm added, hastily, "But I feel that I've been making good progress on my other cases and could spare a bit of time during work hours maybe a couple of hours each week, but mostly outside working hours."

The Admiral had to concede that he was right. He'd been doing well on his cases, seemed to have 'gotten his groove back,' so to speak. And with just casefile reviews and no court assignments, Harm had to be getting pretty bored. Maybe it was time that he let him off the hook? He'd more than proven himself to be the 'team player' that AJ had accused him of not being. It had been many months since he'd asked Harm to return to JAG and he'd brokered no arguments in the face of his harsh treatment. So, for that reason, AJ ok'd Harm's continued participation in this investigation. It would probably turn out to be nothing anyway…

OOOO

The next day, Harm had decided to take a late lunch around 1430, so that he could do some reconnaissance. He was just going out of the door to his office, when Mac stepped up and asked, "How did the Admiral take your plea?"

"Uh, he seemed to take it very well, actually," Harm told her, "In fact, he's letting me pursue it, as long as I keep it mostly out of hours. I was actually just heading out…"

Mac looked perplexed and took a look at her watch.

"For lunch, or to follow up a lead?"

"Both actually," Harm admitted, "I was going to grab a sandwich in the cafeteria, then take a drive out to Norfolk. I figure if I really hurry there and back, the Admiral won't complain."

"Mind if you had a passenger along?" Mac asked.

"Not at all," Harm shook his head. He knew that the case, like the Lewis case had really affected Mac, but back then she hadn't had the opportunity to participate with that one.

They grabbed some sandwiches to go from the cafeteria then sped out to Norfolk. Just as Harm had planned, they were just in time to settle in an inconspicuous spot, before a school bus pulled up to a bus stop across the street, a little down from where they were.

Harm recognized Sandy Callow and her kids once the bus pulled away and quickly pointed them out to Mac. But he didn't look at them for more than a few seconds; he was more interested in the other parents who were there to pick up their kids. He'd spent lots of time thinking about it, the night before. The letter he'd received from 'the concerned neighbor' hadn't mentioned anything about kids other than those in the Callow family. While it was possible that this person could be just a concerned, decent citizen, the odds were that they were so concerned because they had kids themselves. It was just something inside him that told him so.

Harm knew his intuition had been correct when he saw another young mother with her arms around her two kids, leading them away from the bus stop, in the opposite direction of the Callow clan. The woman briefly looked over her shoulder and Harm saw a look of anger cross her features.

As she and her kids disappeared into the nearby street, Harm started the car and pulled away after them.

"Harm," Mac frowned, confused, "where are you going? They went that way!"

Harm stopped at the end of the street and kept his eyes on which house the family went into.

"I know the Callows went that way, Mac," Harm explained, "but I wasn't watching the Callows. I was watching all of the other people at that bus stop."

Once the family disappeared into a house about ten or so down the street, on the right hand-side, Harm looked back to Mac, who was still just as confused.

"We know that 'a concerned neighbor' is a street away from the Callows, don't we?"

Mac nodded, but pointed out, "But who says that this woman is the concerned neighbor? The letter never said anything about her having kids. These people just happen to live on the street below the Callows. In fact, any person on this street may be the concerned neighbor. Or those on the next street to the Callows in any other direction."

"It's just a feeling I have, Mac," Harm tried to explain, "I'm sure that this concerned neighbor has kids, too, which is how I came up with this idea. And you missed that nasty look that this woman shot Sandy Callow, over her shoulder. I think I should at least come back here and try to question her. It's the only way we're going to find out where the Callows lived, while their fourth child was still living with them. Agent Holland could take weeks finding it the long way."

"Yes, I suppose," Mac noted that he did have a point, but stipulated, "But I have just one more additional request…"

"What's that?" Harm asked.

"Can I come along again?" Mac asked, her eyes softening, "This case is becoming important to me too."

"Sure, Mac," Harm smiled back, "I just didn't want to presume…I'm glad you're helping me on this."

"I don't seem to have been much help on it so far," Mac sighed, while Harm started up the car to go back to JAG Headquarters.

"I wouldn't have thought to have gone to Agent Holland, if you hadn't suggested it," Harm pointed out, "And I would gone charging in, destroyed any chance I had of finding out the truth and would have gotten myself chin-deep in hot water with the Admiral for doing it!"

Mac just laughed along with him, but they would find that Mac would actually provide much needed help soon.

OOOO

When they arrived back in Norfolk that night, they also had Agent Holland in tow. Harm gave a knock on the blue door to the house he'd seen 'the concerned neighbor' usher her children into just a few hours earlier.

It was the very same woman who answered the door just a few seconds later. She blanched at the sight of them, so Harm assumed she knew who he was, but simply asked them, quietly, "Yes, may I help you?"

"I'm Commander Rabb, this is Major MacKenzie and Agent Holland. The Colonel and I are with the Judge Advocate General Corps and Agent Holland is with family social services…but I'm sure you already know that, Ma'am. And I'm sure you know what we're here about, as well."

The woman looked like she just might deny it for a second, but paused, nodded and pulled the door open to let them in.

Harm let Agent Holland and Mac pass first, then followed them into a medium sized living room. There was a teenaged boy working at the table and his Mother asked him to go to his room before she said anything to the JAG officers or the agent. Once she was sure that her son was in his room, she turned to the officers and admitted,

"I never thought you'd turn up so quickly, Commander Rabb, but going by your reputation, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. How did you find out it was me?"

"I watched you interact with Sandy Callow when you were both at the bus stop, waiting for your kids, today," Harm told her, "You've already convinced me that there is more to all of this than meets the eye, but none of that will mean anything to anyone else. Agent Holland is only here because of my insistence. I need you to give me more to go on, Ma'am. More than just an old photograph."

"I've already given you the very home of the family," the woman argued, "I don't want to risk either my kids or my family reputation by becoming officially involved in this."

"But what you've given me won't get me anywhere," Harm tried to convince her, "I need the address that this happened at. Unless I've got other witnesses that say that there was a fourth child in the family, I can't go any further with this."

"I've got my family to think about in all of this," the woman was wringing her hands, "You have no idea how much I'm bothered about the way that this child has disappeared, but what about my kids? How will this affect them if it comes out that their lunatic mother turned in some innocent people?"

"I thought you were sure about this?" Mac stepped forwards.

"I am, dammit…" the woman stammered, now very worked up, "But…but what if I am wrong?"

"What if you are right?" Mac countered, "What if this little girl was there and now she's been forgotten about? What if she is alive and needing help, like Dar-Lynn Lewis was and yet nobody comes to save her? What if we find out too late?"

"What if we never find out at all," Harm added, "Is it right that a child should die all alone and never have anyone know their name? Does she not deserve that, whether she's still alive or not?"

The woman froze for a minute, as if really contemplating this. She looked back at them, with a new respect, but still wary.

"I'll need to talk to my husband," she told them, "He's likely to be some time…"

Harm and Mac thought that that was all they were going to get out of her that night, but as luck would have it, somebody was watching from the railings of the upstairs banister.

"Mom?" a quiet voice piped up.

"Janey, I told you to go to bed," the woman gasped and began to look annoyed.

Harm and Mac perked up at the interruption.

"No, the lady's right, Mom," voice belonged to a pre-teen girl who now wandered down the stairs, "That little girl deserves to be with a family who will take care of her. Daddy would say the same and so do Denny and I. If people from school or the neighborhood find out…well, I won't care. Because I'll know that you were brave enough to do what was right, despite what it might cost you."

Now, she turned to Mac.

"Do you really think that she might be dead?"

"It's a possibility," Mac nodded, "But there are equal chances that she is alive. We have to find her and if she's being mistreated, then we have to remove her from her home and put her somewhere she's going to be safe."

"I…" the girl seemed to be really taking Mac's words to heart, "I think that there is something that I should tell you…"

"Janey…" her Mother began, "I really don't think your Father…"

"Dad would say, 'Do what is right,' he always has," Janey cut her Mother off.

The woman offered no more arguments, but went to take her daughter's hand, showing her support for her child, despite her own misgivings.

"One day about a week or so ago, I was out playing with a big bunch of kids," Janey started up again, "The oldest kid from the Callow family was there. She's ten, only a year younger than I am. Anyway, we were all hanging out and she let something slip…"

"Did she mention the child?" Harm asked, gently.

"Not exactly, but it was something akin to that. She said, 'my brothers and sister.' I asked her, 'Oh, so you do have a sister?' For a while, she looked like one of those wild animals on the freeway that just realizes that it's in front of a car and it's got no way to get to safety in time. There was the long pause, then she said…'Yeah, I used to have sister, but she died…a long time ago. I never talk about it, because it upsets my family. They just like to pretend that it never happened, so please don't mention it to anyone. It'll only make them upset, then they'll get angry at me.' I said that I understood, because it wasn't exactly a lie. I came straight home and told my Mother."

Harm and Mac, underneath the uniforms stoicism that they wore, had become very upset about this, but there was no way they'd reveal this.

"Did she say anything else, afterwards?" Mac asked the girl.

"Today she asked me if I sent that picture to the police," Janey told her, "I was about to just say 'no,' but I realized that if I did, it would mean that I knew about it, then they'd guess that Mom did it. I asked her what picture she was talking about. I think she believed me. "

"You're a very smart girl," Mac smiled and the child smiled bashfully.

"You've all done the right thing," Harm added, looking at the child's mother, too, "and you have our words that your names will not be given in any line of questioning we may pursue with the Callow family. But I must ask, where is the house that was in that photograph you sent us, Ma'am?"

"Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I guess," the woman mused, "Call me Sylvia. We lived on Chancery Lane in Suffolk City with the Callow family. The child was still living with them when we left, almost two years ago. She wasn't by the time that they came here, three weeks ago."

"We suspect she may have been removed from the house about a year ago," Harm supplied her, although he hated using the term 'removed'. It hinted at the awful possibilities that were becoming more and more likely.

After thanking the woman and her daughter again, they left.

OOOO


	4. Chapter 4

OOOO

Part 4

Harm wiped his hand across his face in a gesture of frustration. He'd spent all day on other cases, but only one was on his mind 24/7. He wanted to get right out to the street in Suffolk, so that he could begin to question neighbors who still live there. But there was no way he could spend anymore time on the case and not tick off the Admiral.

He picked up the phone, dialing Mac's extension.

"Hey Mac," he greeted her, when she picked up, "Are you doing anything after work tonight? I thought it might be a good opportunity to drive to Suffolk and do some questioning."

"Oh," Mac seemed to hesitate, "Well…actually…"

"Oh, you have plans?" how could Harm have forgotten that Mac had a serious boyfriend? It was just that they had spent so much time together, the previous day. It had been like old times…He had felt like he had got her back, somehow.

"No, let me make a call," Mac spoke up, "I'm sure it won't be a problem…"

She was gone before he could even recover from his shock. He sat and looked at his phone, then put it down and decided to get on with his work. Whatever plans Mac did or didn't cancel, it was really her decision, wasn't it? He had only asked her if she wanted to come along with him, not to avoid going out with Webb…

'Mac's dumping Webb for me!' his inner child couldn't help but chant.

But Harm's more adult side cut it right off, there was no sense in being childish, was there?

He got back to work for a little while, until Mac phoned him back and told him to count her in for tonight. She sounded a little weary, but Harm surmised that she was probably as bored with her cases as he was.

OOOO

They got a few interesting answers, that evening. All in all, they questioned about a dozen people and not only did they learn that there had most certainly been four kids, but that the youngest one was called Karen. She had never seemed to come out with the other kids, but they all believed that it was not through the parent's choice.

"Yes, those are Sandy and Jim's kids, alright," all confirmed, one even mentioned, "Look at that, even the youngest is in there…"

"Oh," one woman told them, "Sandy said she had a heart condition and terrible asthma. It was such a shame for the poor girl, being indoors all the time like that, but a child's wellbeing comes first. She couldn't get all worked up like any of the other children, the shock would probably have killed her."

"Always seemed to be a sickly little kid, was often wheezing," somebody else said, "That wonderful woman seemed to tend to her relentlessly. She'd show up late for parent's evenings or other social functions. It was always because the little one was ill."

And so it went on;

"Had nobody to depend on but her husband and especially the other kids, having no family here. But she said that kids should be kids and so always ushered them others out of the house, away from the sick one. They were always good kids, those other ones. Always looked sad to leave their little sister behind."

"You're sure that Mr. and Mrs. Callow had no family here?" Harm asked, "Do you mean nearby, in Virginia, the east coast, the whole States?"

"This coast, I think…So it seemed, according to Sandy. She was an orphan, you see. And Jim, he had sisters who were much older than him. At least two…that's what Sandy said, 'Jim's sisters.' Couldn't come help them out, 'they're pushing sixty and don't like to travel.'"

Nobody could tell them why the child might not be with them now.

"Could she be in the hospital, somewhere?" most suggested.

Agent Holland stepped forwards and reported what she knew.

"We haven't got any records for any children going by the name Callow in any hospitals in Virginia."

She actually had many friends in other professions also helping her out.

"Oh…Oh, that sounds awfully like the poor child hasn't survived. Sandy worked her hands to the bone keeping her well, but she just got sick so often. Oh, poor Sandy and Jim…They must be absolutely devastated!"

Harm and Mac knew that it could be that the child was perpetually ill, but that didn't explain why her own parents were denying the child's very existence.

What shocked them even more was when Agent Holland got back to them a few days later.

"I've had friends scour records for the past seven years. There are no death records for Karen Callow," she told them when they met up for lunch (Harm didn't know it, but Mac had broken another date with Webb to be there.)

It was her second revelation that really floored them.

"But there are also no birth records for her either…"

Harm and Mac's mouths literally fell open.

"You're kidding?" Harm and Mac both gasped.

Harm was so shocked that he couldn't even figure out what this fact would mean to everything that they'd already found out.

"So that either means that Karen Callow really didn't exist and all of those neighbors are lying," Mac spoke up, "or her parents wanted it to appear so…How could you not register the birth of one of your four kids…There are records there for the other three, right?"

"Yeah… But she could have been born out of state," Agent Holland added, "but none of the other children were, so I doubt the last child was."

"We need to get hold of Jim Callow's military records," Mac surmised, asking, "Do we have probable cause?"

"We do now," Agent Holland nodded, "Will those records tell you where his sisters are?"

"They should do," Harm finally came out of his stupor.

"Then I'll find somebody to check that state's records to see if there are any Karen Callows there, under the age of ten…" Agent Holland added.

But Harm interrupted her, "But should we wait? I think we need to go right in and search the women's homes."

"But we'll have no proof the child's even there," Agent Holland pointed out.

"They're the only relatives," Harm shook his head, "They'd be the logical choice."

"And then we tip our hand," Agent Holland was getting frustrated now, "If the child isn't there, do you think that the women aren't going to get back to their brother on this?"

"If the child is there," Harm argued, just as frustrated, "then she may not last the week or more it takes us to get proof that she's in the state. And if she's not on the state records, it doesn't mean that she's not there. I think she was kept out of school because they didn't want to let authorities know she was there…"

"Harm's got a point," Mac had to step in, "I know just how precarious a position this child may be in, but we could lose her either way…How about we just go in to ask a couple of questions? Just like we did at the Callow's house? They didn't freak out and run off then…"

"It's still to be a very risky move, especially if word gets back to the parents," Agent Holland still had reservations, but she could see Harm and Mac's side of the argument.

"How about we get surveillance put on all three homes; the sisters homes and the Callow residence?" Harm suggested.

Agent Holland admitted that was their best safeguard.

OOOO


	5. Chapter 5

OOOO

Part 5

The next few days passed slowly, because Harm and Mac were constrained by work. By the time the weekend came around, they were raring to go, even Mac, who'd actually received a bit of grief from Webb about her 'gallivanting.' Mac was beginning to see the relationship for what it was. Clay could leave the country all the time and break their appointments, but it wasn't okay for her to do so, even though it was for her job. (At the end of this, if charges were brought, it would be tried in a military court.) Mac had decided that she'd had enough of partners who tried to control her and had broken things off with Webb.

Jim Callow's sister, Stephanie and Regina Waters lived out in a tiny town in Wisconsin, as had Jim, before enlisting. Both sisters were single and without children, at least of their own, but Harm still had a feeling that the missing child would be found through them, as the practically deserted town just seemed like somewhere perfect to hide a secret and not get caught. He had a feeling that a good many secrets were probably hidden within this town. He put that thought aside as irrelevant, he was here in pursuit of only one truth.

Because of how late it was when they arrived, much as they wanted to go knocking the suspects' doors down, they decided that a calm approach, first thing in the morning would be best.

It was one of the longest nights that any of them remembered. They of course had many to choose from (Agent Holland working where she did and Harm and Mac being who they were!) but this one ranked right up there.

Harm and Mac ended up sitting out in the hallway of the motel, looking up at the heavens above, silently pondering if Karen Callow would prove as difficult to find as any one of those billions of stars.

After the very little sleep they did manage to get, they skipped breakfast and set out around 0900. It was as early as they thought possible, without raising suspicions.

Regina Waters was still in pajamas and a bathrobe when she answered the door to Agent Holland (It was decided that three people, especially two JAG officers definitely would tip the woman off.) Holland asked all the questions they had formulated and inevitably there were inconsistencies. One of the most obvious was that she said the child in question was a Sandy's niece. Agent Holland was trying to decide if they had enough 'reasonable grounds' yet, when she caught sight of something in the hallway behind the door; A child's ratty sneaker lying on its side, obviously having been left some time before. Its partner was not with it and because they had caught her by surprise, Regina had obviously not thought to move it.

Without another second of hesitation, Agent Holland turned and signaled to Harm and Mac, who came forward immediately and arrested Regina Waters.

But their journey was by no means over. While subtle hints were scattered around the small apartment, there was no child there.

OOOO

Before Regina Waters had even been gone a full minute, the three of them jumped right back into their car. They were escorted by a convoy of police officers, who had arrived and congregated en masse when they had received the call about the case.

They followed the street guide Agent Holland had procured, until they found the second sister's residence, a house quite larger than the first. The police stayed back, out of sight, but prepared to step in, if needed. Stephanie Waters was similarly dressed, but seemed to react faster to the sight of what she thought were three military officers.

"What do you want?" she asked Agent Holland, rudely, "Who are you? Why are military officers on my doorstep?"

"I'm Agent Holland, with Child Protective Services in Washington DC and Virginia…I'd just like to ask you a couple of questions about your brother and his family."

"Why do you want to know?" the woman snapped.

"Just for a routine investigation," Agent Holland reeled off, coolly, pulling the photograph out of her pocket, "Are these the children of your brother Jim and his wife, Sandy?"

"Those are," Stephanie pointed to the three older children.

"And this one?" Holland was not deterred, "This is one of their children, too?"

"No, just those three."

"Then who is this little girl?"

"Have no idea."

"None? You never encountered her at all."

"Why would I?"

"On vacation. You've never been to visit your brother and his family in Virginia?"

"Don't like to travel…Been a couple of time, but I never saw that kid."

"You're sure about that?" Agent Holland checked, "You never saw your brother's children playing with this little girl?"

"No," Stephanie shook her head, emphatically, "Never."

"You became very friendly with the children's friends, did you?" Agent Holland was not sure how much more she could push Stephanie Callow without going too far. But she needed to get something that would give them the excuse to take her into custody and search her house.

"No, course not. I barely see the children, barely see Jim and Sandy either…" Stephanie was now looking flustered, so Agent Holland decided to go for broke to see if she could be cracked.

"So you aren't close to your brother or his five dependents?"

"No, I sometimes speak to them by phone, but we can go for months without spea…"

OOOO


	6. Chapter 6

OOOO

Part 6

Stephanie froze as she realized what Holland had said.

"What do you mean?" she immediately, "I already told you, they have three children. It's just Jim, Sandy, and the three kids."

"And why is that, Ms. Waters?" Agent Holland pushed, "When did they finally decide that having one more was an inconvenience? What, they couldn't afford another child, did they just find it too much to take care of her?"

"I've told you…" Stephanie began.

"Are they paying you to take care of her?" Holland continued, "Are they compensating you? Or did your sister just dump her on you? You didn't get much choice in the matter, did you? Or was it that you wanted one of your own, but it just didn't work out the natural way? You have a special affinity for the child?"

"No!" Stephanie suddenly barked, "I can't stand the kid. But Jim certainly didn't want Sandy's little bastard living with him and of course Regina never takes any responsibility for anything she gets herself involved in. I hate the kid, but as usual, it's always Stephanie, the big sister who gets everything dumped on her!"

Harm and Mac took Stephanie Waters into custody, read her rights and turned her over to local police, who were only too happy to give a hand.

Agent Holland and the two officers then entered the house, along with another police officer, who was ready to tape the whole place off in the event that it turned out to be an actual crime scene. Agent Holland began to take photographs with a camera, so that they had evidence before other law-enforcement officers began to passing through. Harm and Mac checked through the rooms of the house carefully, taking note of several child-related items as they went. They mentioned each one to Agent Holland and she continued her evidence cataloging. But they didn't find the child in any one of those rooms.

After the last room, Harm and Mac stumbled across the doorway that obviously led to a ground floor. They'd seen the garage door from the street and surmised that, as the house was a storey-high at entry level, then the garage must be downstairs. Mac tried the door but found that it was locked. The key was in the lock, so it didn't take them long before they had the door open, had found the light switch to illuminated the stairs and went down.

The area downstairs seemed to be partitioned by a thin plasterboard wall, so Mac went one way and Harm went another. Mac ended up in the garage and took a good look around the cluttered space. Harm ended up in a cellar area, which was not only twice the size, but was even more cluttered, with numerous cardboard boxes full of accumulated bric-a-brac. He soon found what he was looking for when he navigated his way around all of the boxes.

"Mac, in here!" he called carefully, so as not to startle the small figure in the corner. He didn't notice any movement from her, whatsoever, but was still hesitant to go forward, just in case he did frighten the child. Mac hurried through, but became similarly motionless once she caught sight of the child. Karen Callow was facing away from them, leaning heavily into the corner wall. On closer investigation, they saw she was kneeling forwards, but appeared to be unconscious. What really caught Harm and Mac by the heart strings though, was when they realized that the child's arms were tied together in front of her at the wrist, with wire, which was then twisted around a nail sticking out of the wall.

"Oh, dear God," Mac gasped and Harm immediately jumped forwards to render aid, Mac right behind him. He shook the child, gently and called her name, then again, a bit more forcefully. The child lifted her head to look at him, the crack-marks in the plaster of the wall having left indentation marks across the side of her face.

"Don't worry, Karen," Harm comforted her, gently, "We're here to help you."

She didn't seem afraid of them at all and surrendered herself over to them completely as Harm and Mac set to work on the wire that bound her tiny wrists. The wire, which later proved to have been brutal on the child's delicate skin, kept catching at Harm's fingers, so Mac went and found a pair of wire cutters, which had been lying about. By the time they had unbound the child's hands, the paramedics had arrived with a gurney. Harm and Mac helped the six-year-old to her feet and across to lie down and get checked out. Her little bones and muscles had been submitted to this harsh treatment, sustaining an odd position for days on end and the hard, cold floor all day long and through the night, so she encountered quite a bit of pain and stiffness.

"We aren't sure what state the child might be in, Sir," one medic explained, as he began the examination, "We think it best that we carry her out."

Harm and Mac nodded and began to give Agent Holland all of the details of how they had found the child, but stayed on hand while the paramedics worked. The child was drowsy and now more frightened with the additional people around, but lacked the energy to resist, so was pretty compliant. Mac accompanied the child and the medics in the ambulance, while Harm and Agent Holland followed behind them, all the way to the hospital.

OOOO

Admiral AJ Chegwidden checked with the nurse in the first floor reception and received directions to the pediatrics unit. On the way up, he thought to himself just how keen Harm's instincts had been on this case. Although he was one of the very best lawyers in the Navy, Harm seemed to have a special talent for cases where there were children involved…it probably stemmed from his own tragedy during his childhood years. AJ made up his mind that he'd ask the commander just how he managed to pull these cases off, against unbelievable odds. But when AJ got up to the unit, what he saw made him reconsider and decide to go out to wait in the waiting room.

Mac was sitting on the side of the bed, comforting the clearly emotionally distraught and disoriented child. Harm was standing beside her, rendering his assistance, too, his arm around Mac. AJ smiled and left his 'dynamic duo' to work their magic.

FIN


End file.
